It All Comes Down To A Shadow Game
by xXxAshannahxXx
Summary: When Atem is beaten by Marik in a shadow game, it's up to Yugi and the rest of the gang to save him...But what if Yugi looses? Sorry, I suck at summaries.


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-It was dark in the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi was wondering why he was wandering around inside again. But as he kept walking down, up, and across the twisting staircases his concern slowly faded.

_"Hmm, this door isn't familiar….." Yugi states to himself as he passes an unrecognized door. He walks into the passage that leads to the doorway. He reaches out to push the door open but when his fingertips brush along the handle, the door opens. Inside is a glowing arch surrounded by golden light. The pulsating light framed a figure walking steadily towards it._

_"Atem!!" Yugi calls out. "Atem, wait!" Yugi runs forward, calling Atem's name, but the figure doesn't turn around. Atem just keeps walking towards the doorway. To his new destiny... "Atem!!!! Don't leave me. Please! I still need you. I'm so confused; I have no future without you. I LOVE YOU!" But even though Yugi's cries got more and more desperate, Atem never stopped walking away.-_

**"ATEM!!"**

Yugi bolted straight up. The nightmares were getting worse, more realistic, more cutting. His hand shot up to cup his forehead. _I told him I loved him. _Yugi was in a slight state of surprise. _I had never done that before. _He tried to focus on the nuances in his dreams rather than face the cruel truth. It had been six months and he still couldn't completely evade his feelings. Always in the dark of night when his subconscious took over the painful emotions slowly crept back, like weeds on a sidewalk one can never completely remove....

Yugi snapped out of his mini reverie and turned towards his dresser to check how early it was this time. His alarm clock flashed the time '6:17' in his face. Groaning internally, Yugi stretched and yanked himself out of bed. _At least I got more sleep tonight _Yugi thought. He hadn't really had more than four or five hours of sleep each night. Tonight he had almost six and a half, a luxurious amount. He quickly got up and preceded with his usual morning agenda. He walked to the bathroom quietly, trying not to wake his sleeping grandfather. Seeing as age seemed to finally catch up with the man he needed all the sleep he could get.

After Yugi slid his boxers and tank top off, he stepped into his steamy shower. Almost immediatly he started to relax. He let the pleasantly hot water abate his fears. Refreshed, he hopped out and wrapped a towel around his waist and one around his hair.

After he brushed his teeth and dried himself off, Yugi took the towel away from his slightly star-shaped hair. He combed through it and added a bit of gel to keep it from falling in his face. As he walked back to his room he sighed; he knew that there was nothing in store for the day. Yugi briefly considered not even getting dressed, but his better judgment forced him to at least put his normal apparel on.

Yugi shivered. He didn't realize that he had left the window open and the cold morning air raised faint goose bumps on his damp, glistening skin. After shutting it, Yugi got dressed. He looked down at his usual chains and such above the black tank top. Even after six months, he still felt incomplete without the Millennium Puzzle hanging from his neck. Yugi shook off the unwanted thought before it lead anywhere else.

After Yugi was decent he walked downstairs to the kitchen to appease his growling stomach. Yugi opened the pantry door and mentally listed his breakfast options. _Toast, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, bagel...protein shake?*bleh*. _Even though the waffles were calling to him, cereal just seemed to call louder. After he poured himself a bowl of Count Chocula's, he walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Trying to entertain himself, Yugi turned the TV on, mindful to keep the volume down. However, to his disdain, he could find nothing really interesting. He chose to sit and do absolutely nothing instead. It wasn't too unusual for him as of late.

Yugi sighed as he stared out the window. The day was unusually gloomy for seven on a Saturday morning. The dark clouds foretold heavy rain in the near future. The weather matched his mood entirely. He hadn't dueled or hung out with his friends in a while. Actually, Yugi hadn't done much of anything for close to six months. His life consisted of going to school and working in his grandpa's game shop. But his heart wasn't in either like it used to be.

Yugi felt as if his life was incomplete. Like a part of his soul was missing...and it was.

He didn't have any plans for the day; so when the phone rang he was rather surprised. Not wanting it to wake his snoring grandfather, he answered it with a quiet "Hello?"

"Oh! Hi Yugi!" Shock laced Tea's voice. She obviously wasn't expecting Yugi to answer.

"Hey, Tea. What's up with the early call?" He asked curiously.

"Oh. Well. I, uh, I w-wanted to ask you something," she stammered timidly.

"What would that be?" he wondered in the same tone as before.

"I don't want to ask him, Tristan. You do it," Tea muttered without taking the phone away from her face.

Tristan took the phone from her and said casually "Hey, Yugi. We were wondering if you wanted to come down to Domino Park around noon. We're having a mini duel tournament there." Then he added to Tea "That's how you do it."

"Who all is 'we'?" Yugi was slightly wary now.

"Just the regular gang," he answered. "Me, Tea, Joey, Duke, and Mia. Ryou and Bakura(1) might show up and Kaiba said he'd be there too." Tristan's voice sounded a bit irritated with the last statement. He and Duke were the only ones who still had any resentment towards Seto and Joey being together. But Duke was starting to get over it now that he and Mia were a thing.

"Wait. Which Kaiba?"

"Seto." Tristan spat the name as if it were venomous. "Well, both actually," his tone lightened. "Mokuba said that he would referee. Cute kid."

"Um…" Yugi mulled over the issue for a few minutes. After not dueling for practically half a year, he was positive his dueling performance would fail epically. Not to mention that while he was taking a dueling sabbatical, his friends had improved their own skills to actually make them competition. Yugi was about to decline when he had a sudden surge of instincts. _Why shouldn't I start dueling again? _He had stopped because it was too much of an emotional drain. When he dueled, he felt closer to _Him,_ and after the sharp betrayal, Yugi didn't want any similarities connecting him with his other ha…Him. Yugi mentally winced at the nickname that still rolled easily of his tongue. Even now, when it obviously no longer applied.

Tristan was about to ask Yugi again in case he hadn't heard when Yugi sighed. "Sure. I'll be there."

"Great," Tristan responded enthusiastically. "See you soon then." Tristan hung up after that obvious goodbye.

Yugi put the phone back on the charger. He knew Grandpa worried about him. Getting out of the house should ease some of his stress. Yugi was sure that he dueling again would make his grandfather happy.

The thought of dueling again made Yugi smile. It made him feel…alive .

With this newfound spark -this hope- Yugi started getting everything ready to duel again. To face what the rest of the day had in store.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O..O.o.O.o.O.o

*Atem's P.O.V*

Atem lay on his back with his fingers laced behind his head. He stared at the empty sky. However, he could not see the beauty of the stars that, under normal circumstances, would take his breath away. Instead, a pair of infinite violet eyes engulfed his vision.

Ishizu walked up to where Atem was lying on a rock. "Pharaoh," she greeted him. He nodded to her in return. "It will start getting cold soon," she told him "Please consider coming inside."

Atem sighed and sat up. "Ishizu," he started slowly, "why can't I stop myself. From constantly thinking of…him?"

"Who? Yugi?" Malik asked, hearing Atem's question as he ascended the stairs that led to the underground chamber where the three of them, and Odeon, resided. Atem winced at his once other half's name.

"Malik," Ishizu chastised her brother. "Be sensitive."

"Sorry," he said, abashed, looking down. He walked over to Atem and snuggled into his lap. They pecked each other lightly on the lips.

They soft kiss reminded Atem of his and Yugi's last moments, after he lost the duel.

_*Flashback*_

"Atem! Please! Please don't go. I'm literally begging you to stay here. For me!!! I don't think I can survive with out you. P-please don't l-l-lea-leave me alone!" Yugi's tearstained face was full fear and anguish. The look of pure terror in Yugi's eyes nearly unraveled Atem's will. He almost threw himself at Yugi's feet and pleaded for forgiveness; but he knew, in his heart, he was making the right choice. He had to let Yugi believe that he was leaving. Atem knew if Yugi found out he didn't really plan to stay in The Realm Beyond then he wouldn't be able to research the rest of his past alone. He knew he'd yearn for Yugi's soft touches while he looked for his heritage in Egypt . However, this journey was one he realized he had to travel on his own.

"I'm so sorry. But this is my destiny. I lost this duel; you won. And now I must embrace my future as you embrace yours." Atem hesitated a moment then continued. "I hope you never forget how much I love you Yugi…my other half." Unshed tears held refuge in his eyes as he gently lowered his lips to press them against Yugi's forehead.

"I love you too Pharaoh. More than you can ever imagine." Fresh, liquid emotion ran down Yugi's face, as if to prove this declaration true. Yugi tilted his head back slightly to receive his love's kiss with his own lips. His movement surprised Atem at first but he soon melted his shocked position. Neither he nor Yugi deepened the kiss. The passion of this soft, light kiss- their first and only- was perfect for this moment. Feeling his determination slip, Atem broke the kiss first. He backed up and placed his hands on Yugi's slender shoulders.

"We should call the others back in," Atem stated. Yugi nodded, thankful to his friends for giving them this private moment. When Joey, Tea, Tristan, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Marik, Ishizu, Seto, Mokuba, Mia, and Duke had filed back in, Atem said his private goodbyes to all his friends, allowing an especially personal one for Yugi. Then he said one final goodbye to the whole group.

It was obvious Yugi was holding back sobs. Tea wrapped her arm around one of his shoulders while Joey did the same for the other one. Both had tears falling silently down their cheeks. Mia's head was cast down, but Atem suspected she was crying too. Ryou looked just as bad as Yugi. His chest was fluttering as he, too, held back sobs with an effort. Tristan looked miserable; on the verge of crying, but not quite there. Duke's teeth were clenched in an effort to hold back the tears pooling in his eyes. The scene made Atem's heart hurt.

He motioned for Marik and Bakura to stand in front of the doorway to The Realm Beyond. With a final nod, they walked through the open doors. After all the yami's walked through the blazing doorways of light, Atem started to utter the ancient chant that gave him a second chance at life and a body of his own. That was the last thing he remembered.....

When he regained awareness of his surroundings, he was on the floor in his tomb with Malik and Ishizu. He wasn't surprised to see them there due to the request he made during his personal goodbyes. What did startle him though was seeing Bakura and Marik with them. Apparently they had made the same choice as the once-pharaoh. Marik was adamant on staying with his hikari and Bakura planned to find his. Before he left though, Atem forced Bakura to swear not to reveal the truth about his choice to anyone, least of all Yugi. Bakura nodded after a brief pause and left quickly. Soon after, he and his companions followed suit to pursue Atem's past.

_*End Flashback*_

"So how's that Atem?" Malik asked, pulling Atem from his painful reminiscence.

He gave Malik a puzzled look. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that," Atem said. A light blush stained his cheeks as he realized he was thinking of another man while his boyfriend sat in his lap.

"I said, how about we go inside right now? Then we can think about this in the morning. After a good night's sleep." He threw a sly glance at Atem. They both knew that they weren't going to sleep. Atem raised his eyebrows.

"Please just keep it down this time," Ishizu said, causing the lovers to blush. "You two kept me up half the night."

"Sorry," they apologized at the same time. Malik giggled.

They all descended the stairs into the underground chamber.


End file.
